Dominant First Half Powers South Alabama to Win Over Buffalo

It was the debut of South Alabama’s new Mardi Gras Alternate uniforms, and the Jags put on show, defeating Buffalo 81-69 in the MAC-Sun Belt challenge on Saturday. It was a game in which the final score did not quite tell the whole story of the game, a game the Jags dominated throughout. South Alabama had a 30 point lead at one point in the second half, before the Bulls rallied to make things competitive late.

This was a much needed bounce back win for the Jags who fell earlier this week to App State 65-57.

Good times rolled 😏🎭#LSF | #BurnTheBoats pic.twitter.com/fIZJaOIpfH

— South Alabama Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@SouthAlabamaMBB) February 7, 2026

The Bulls opened the game by forcing a stop and making a three in their opening possession, but this would be the only time Buffalo would lead in this one. South Alabama responded in a BIG way, a 25-4 run immediately following this to give the Jags a big early lead. Buffalo would hit a few threes in the first half, but South Alabama would continue to control this one. South Alabama leading the bulls 40-24 at the half.

🗣️AOOOOO + 4⃣ pic.twitter.com/NRcZS8ZQj2

— South Alabama Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@SouthAlabamaMBB) February 7, 2026

This momentum would not stop here, it would continue into the second half for South Alabama would open the half with a 19-6 run. South Alabama was able to build a 30-point lead at one point in the second half. At this point South Alabama pulled most starters and gave some back of the bench players some time on the court, Maxwell Land and Brian Hawthorne seeing some rare time on the court.

Buffalo turned up the pressure though and began hitting some threes, rallying against the Jaguar bench. Buffalo was able to cut the game to just 10 late in the half due to some bad turnovers and some missed free throws. South Alabama held on despite the late surge, winning 81-69.

The Jaguars as a team shot 53% overall and a very impressive 47.6% from three, one of their best offensive games this season. The Jaguars also did a great job of forcing turnovers and dominating the glass, outrebounding Buffalo 36-34. The Jags were uncharacteristically sloppy though. South Alabama, who is top five in the country in least amount of turnovers turned it over 10 times against the Bulls, one of their worst performances in this category in weeks.

Individually, it was a huge game for a slumping Adam Olsen, who switched his number from 12 to 0 before the game. He led the team with 23 points, and 3 steals, shooting 4-7 from three. Jayden Cooper also had another big game, he had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in this one.

Buffalo was led by senior guard Angelo Brizzi, he had 26 points, with 24 of those coming from made three pointers. Junior guard Ryan Sabol also played an impactful role, he had 23 points, despite just shooting 8-21, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. This was a common theme, as the Bulls only shot 38% as a team, including going 17-46 from beyond the arc.

“To come out of here with a win makes me proud. We played really well for the majority of the game and they started pressing and playing crazy once we got up 30. We made some really undisciplined plays, but I’m proud of the segments that we had throughout that game. We’ve got to build on the consistency,” said South Alabama Head Coach Richie Riley.

With this win South Alabama improves to 17-7 overall. The Jags will hit the road for their next few games, with three straight games against Southern Miss, Arkansas State and a makeup game against Marshall. The first of these games coming Thursday in Hattiesburg at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.